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November 28, 2007

Practice News Story 11: Accident

10:05 a.m. MT Nov. 28, 20077 Students dead in tragic van accident

TREEMONTON, UTAH -- A Utah State University field trip turned disastrous after a van carrying ten students and their instructor swerved and rolled off the road, ejecting all riders, killing seven and sending the surviving four to neighboring hospitals in the process.

Highway patrolman Jason Jensen arrived first on the scene and made this chilling comment: "There were bodies everywhere. Literally bodies scattered across the area."

Kyle Holden, a former student who was returning in a separate vehicle described that from his view part of the back tire of the van came apart which caused the van to swerve off the road."I saw the van go off the shoulder and start rolling ... probably one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life, " he said.

Speed may have been a factor in the accident, as police assumptions pin the van as traveling around 85-90 mph. Lack of seatbelt usage also may have been a factor in the disastrous outcome. "If you are wearing a seatbelt you do not get thrown out of a vehichle like this," said Jensen.

The university and many state wide are in mourning. "To have this type of a devastation occur is difficult to put into words," said Holden.